Guaman court date delayed

The case of Nicolas Dutan Guaman has been delayed another month as his attorney seeks more time to educate him on legal concepts and re-evaluate whether he will then be competent to stand trial.

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Posted May. 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 16, 2013 at 4:04 PM

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Posted May. 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 16, 2013 at 4:04 PM

WORCESTER

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The case of Nicolas Dutan Guaman has been delayed another month as his attorney seeks more time to educate him on legal concepts and re-evaluate whether he will then be competent to stand trial.

Guaman, who is a facing second-degree murder charge after a crash that killed Milford resident Matthew Denice in August 2011, was due back in court on June 11, but a Worcester Superior Court judge ruled to push the date back to July 17 on Wednesday.

Defense attorney Peter Ettenberg requested additional time to meet with the order laid out by Judge Janet Kenton-Walker last month when she ruled Guaman was not competent to stand trial at the time.

“We have hired the people we need to accomplish what the judge has ordered,” Ettenberg said. “They’ve had to coordinate their schedules and set up times with the proper interpreter.”

Guaman, who is in the county illegally according to immigration officials, speaks Quechua and requires an interpreter. His competency hearing was delayed twice due to a lack of an interpreter and, prior to that hearing, he had dealt with a Spanish interpreter even though he has only a minimal understanding of the language.

“The perception is that we’re trying to drag things out, but that’s the farthest thing from the truth,” Ettenberg said. “We’re at a standstill until this issue is resolved and we’re hopeful it can be resolved then or shortly thereafter now that people are working with (Guaman).”

On April 25, Kenton-Walker approved the defense’s requests to obtain funds to hire both a law professor and a psychologist to move toward making Guaman competent.

The defense has hired Karen Pita Loor, a criminal practice law professor at Boston University, for $1,500 and Dr. Eric Drojin, a clinical psychologist, for $4,500.

At the time, assistant district attorney Jeffrey Travers requested that the judge deny the motion to hire another psychologist saying Guaman has been evaluated several times already in this case.

“The court has ruled that the defendant doesn’t suffer from any mental disease or defect that prevents him from learning the information required to become competent,” Travers argued. “It would be inconsistent with the court order and inappropriate as the court has already narrowed the issue … to the defendant’s progress in his education of American legal concepts.”

Kenton-Walker sided with the defense and said the objection would be more appropriately raised if and when the psychologist is to testify.

Lindsay Corcoran can be reached at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. For Milford news throughout the day, follow her on Twitter @LacorcMDN.